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Why not ride DeMarco Murray in overtime?
October, 28, 2014
8:00AM ET
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Running back DeMarco Murray shouted several high-decibel curse words as he entered the locker room after the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins and kept hollering after the doors closed.
About an hour later, after getting treatment and taking his time to shower and get dressed, Murray attributed his outburst to the frustration a competitor feels after a tough loss.
If Murray had any complaints about the play-calling late in the game, he certainly wasn't going to air them publicly.
"Whatever play is called, that's what we believe in," said Murray, who padded his NFL rushing lead by gaining 141 yards on 19 carries. "Scott [Linehan] does a great job to put us in great positions to make plays."
That has certainly been the case most of the time this season for the 6-2 Cowboys, but it was curious, to say the least, to see the NFL's best running team put the burden on quarterback Tony Romo's bruised back on the final few plays of overtime.
With the Cowboys needing a field goal to extend the game or a touchdown to win it, Dallas opened the drive with a run to the right by Murray, who followed a powerful lead block by backup left guard Mackenzy Bernadeau for an 8-yard gain.
Murray finished one shy of the magic number -- the Cowboys are 17-1 when Murray gets at least 20 carries -- so it certainly isn't as if the Cowboys suddenly got concerned about limiting Murray's historically heavy workload with the game on the line.
For the first time all season, the Cowboys just got pass-happy, something that had happened on a regular basis over the last few years.
The Cowboys got the ball in Murray's hands on second-and-2, but it was on a play-action pass to the flat. For whatever reason, the Cowboys' timing on the play got out of whack, and linebacker Perry Riley Jr. dropped Murray for a 1-yard loss.
In that situation, when the Cowboys clearly aren't going to punt, a run on third down would be a reasonable call. But Linehan called a pass on third down (incomplete to Jason Witten) and again on fourth down (incomplete to Dez Bryant).
Hindsight being 20/20, Linehan would at least like a do-over on the second-down call.
"One of our goals was to use play-action on second down," Linehan said. "The whole idea was if it wasn't there, we were going to check down. I don't know what happened [to the timing of the play].
"I'm probably going to wish I had run the ball on the second play, but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Like the running back, Linehan's bosses had no complaints about the play-calling, at least not in the range of any microphones. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he wasn't going to second-guess. Head coach Jason Garrett said he felt "completely confident in the rhythm he's in calling plays, if anything I would have passed more."
All in all, Linehan has done a heck of a job. It took eight games -- and an overtime period -- to give fans and media a chance to pounce on a play-calling crisis. That's progress around these parts, as painful as it was Monday night.
October, 28, 2014
8:00AM ET
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Running back DeMarco Murray shouted several high-decibel curse words as he entered the locker room after the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins and kept hollering after the doors closed.
About an hour later, after getting treatment and taking his time to shower and get dressed, Murray attributed his outburst to the frustration a competitor feels after a tough loss.
If Murray had any complaints about the play-calling late in the game, he certainly wasn't going to air them publicly.
"Whatever play is called, that's what we believe in," said Murray, who padded his NFL rushing lead by gaining 141 yards on 19 carries. "Scott [Linehan] does a great job to put us in great positions to make plays."
That has certainly been the case most of the time this season for the 6-2 Cowboys, but it was curious, to say the least, to see the NFL's best running team put the burden on quarterback Tony Romo's bruised back on the final few plays of overtime.
With the Cowboys needing a field goal to extend the game or a touchdown to win it, Dallas opened the drive with a run to the right by Murray, who followed a powerful lead block by backup left guard Mackenzy Bernadeau for an 8-yard gain.
Murray finished one shy of the magic number -- the Cowboys are 17-1 when Murray gets at least 20 carries -- so it certainly isn't as if the Cowboys suddenly got concerned about limiting Murray's historically heavy workload with the game on the line.
For the first time all season, the Cowboys just got pass-happy, something that had happened on a regular basis over the last few years.
The Cowboys got the ball in Murray's hands on second-and-2, but it was on a play-action pass to the flat. For whatever reason, the Cowboys' timing on the play got out of whack, and linebacker Perry Riley Jr. dropped Murray for a 1-yard loss.
In that situation, when the Cowboys clearly aren't going to punt, a run on third down would be a reasonable call. But Linehan called a pass on third down (incomplete to Jason Witten) and again on fourth down (incomplete to Dez Bryant).
Hindsight being 20/20, Linehan would at least like a do-over on the second-down call.
"One of our goals was to use play-action on second down," Linehan said. "The whole idea was if it wasn't there, we were going to check down. I don't know what happened [to the timing of the play].
"I'm probably going to wish I had run the ball on the second play, but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Like the running back, Linehan's bosses had no complaints about the play-calling, at least not in the range of any microphones. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he wasn't going to second-guess. Head coach Jason Garrett said he felt "completely confident in the rhythm he's in calling plays, if anything I would have passed more."
All in all, Linehan has done a heck of a job. It took eight games -- and an overtime period -- to give fans and media a chance to pounce on a play-calling crisis. That's progress around these parts, as painful as it was Monday night.
was easy pickins for a blitz every other play.
